skip navigation

Ice Kings House

House Program – Players participate in the house program at all levels from Mites through Midgets. This program mixes the recreation and competitive aspects of hockey. Skills are continually developed. Many associations refer to these programs as their “recreation” league. Teams play an average of 25 to 40 games per year.

Recent House News

Coach Patrick Named MAHA Coach of the Year

By Article Courtesy of the Daily Mining Gazette 08/23/2011, 5:38am EDT

MAHA’s master mentor — Patrick recognized for commitment to hockey coaching

August 20, 2011
By Brandon Veale - DMG Sports Editor (bveale@mininggazette.com) , The Daily Mining Gazette

HANCOCK - Glenn Patrick said "I've never had a team that was this unselfish" about the Keweenaw Storm U-16 girls' hockey team he coached to a national runner-up finish.

Perhaps it was a reflection of the team's leadership.

In honor of the commitment Patrick made to the Storm and to coaching hockey at all levels, he was named the Michigan Amateur Hockey Association's Coach of the Year at a ceremony in Traverse City this July.

Reflecting that generous nature, Patrick quickly asked that credit be given to his assistant coaches Dave Yeo and Joe Pyykkonen and manager Shelley Farrey.

"It really is a group award and I tell them that regularly," Patrick said.

Patrick was also recently honored in USA Hockey's national magazine as the national coach of the month in its August issue.

Patrick, who has more than two decades of experience behind the bench, is also an assistant coach of the Calumet High School boys' team. Those dual responsibilities created an unusual situation during tournament time in March.

With help from alum Dylan Parske, Patrick navigated a difficult commute between the U-16 girls' state tournament in Grand Rapids and the Division 3 boys' regional at Michigan Tech. The Copper Kings played in a semifinal Thursday night, after which Patrick and Parske booked it down to GR (a 500-mile trip) for two Storm games. They got back to Houghton in time for the regional final Saturday at noon. After the Copper Kings saw off Hancock for the regional crown, they got back in the car and headed below the bridge for the Storm's state championship game in Grand Rapids Sunday.

"They were committed, so I just felt I needed to be committed to them," he said.

Those weren't the only miles on the road Patrick had in March. Calumet had a state quarterfinal in Sault Ste. Marie the following Tuesday and won to advance to the state finals in the Detroit Area, eventually taking a runner-up finish in Division 3. Later that month, the Storm left for the nationals in Anaheim, Calif., where they also took second, reaching the final after a five-overtime thriller in the semifinals.

It was the second year of the Storm travel team, on which his daughter Allie plays, and Patrick said he thought that with that extra year of experience, the Storm were poised to make a run.

Patrick likes to focus on skill development on the ice, and it showed in Anaheim.

"Other coaches were amazed at the improvement in our team and would ask what 'system' we used," Pyykkonen said in a nomination letter submitted to MAHA. "Glenn simply explained that we focused on skill development. Glenn went as far as to show them, our opponents, drills that we used to improve puck movement. With Glenn, it isn't about the coaches; it is about getting the best out of each player so they will gain confidence in both hockey and in life."

That change, even in the youngest skaters, is what makes coaching fun, Patrick said.

"The improvement, you can see it in weeks. That's what it's all about, seeing kids learn a new skill," he said.

The players, parents and coaches collaborated to nominate Patrick for the award. Their testimonies and gratitude moved Patrick.

"I read them, and gosh, I get tears in my eyes sometime when I read them," he said.

When he moved back to the area in 1991 from Green Bay, Patrick said he took up hockey coaching as something he felt he ought to do. It's become much more than a chance to serve the community or keep an eye on his kids.

"Out of obligation, I started doing it, and it turned into something I love," he said.